Method of preparing wood chips for making pulp



(No Model.)

. I N. M. JONES & R. TALBOT. 7 METHOD OF PREPARING WOOD CHIPS FOR MAKING PULP.

.No. 573,981. PatentedDec. 29, 1896.

WITNESSES. m INVENTOR 4) I r .-wmw W M [Iii W W s r XW z/AMWM 'NITED" STATES PATENT OFFICE.

NATHANIEL M. JONES AND REGINALD TALBOT, OF LINCOLN, MAINEySAID TALBOT ASSIGNOR TO CHARLP) \V; COFFIN, OF BANGOR, MAINE.

M ETHOD OF PREPARING WOOD CHIPS FOR MAKING PULP.

SPECIFICATION formingpart of Letters Patent No. 573,981, dated December 29, 1896. Ap li ation fil d November 2, 1895. semi No. 567,749- (No specimens.)

T at whom it may concern: those made wholly orprincipally from the Be it known that we, NATHANIEL M. JONES knots and knotty portions contain so much and REGINALD TALBOT, of Lincoln, in the resinous matter that they not only do not abcounty of Penobscot and State of Maine, have sorb water, but they also fail to rise to the top 5 invented new and useful Improvements in of the liquid with the clear-wood chips, and

Methods of Preparing Vood Chips for Makthey therefore become separated from the lating Pulp; and we do hereby declare the folter. They are, in fact, of such relative spelowing to be afull, clear, and exactdescription cific gravity that they fall to the bottom of a of said invention, reference being had to the body of water together with the dirt and other IO accompanying drawings, and to the letters of relatively heavy objectionable matter, and reference marked thereon, which form a part thus become separated from the clear-wood of this specification. chips, the latter rising to the top of the body This invention relates to the preparation of of liquid, from which they may be removed chips used in the manufacture of wood-pulp; by hand or by some suitable form of appara- I 5 and it has for its object the rapid and comtus, in a thoroughly moistened condition,

plete moistening of the perfect or selected ready for cooking in the digester. chips preparatory to the cooking in a digestcr, The accompanying drawing, in which we so they may the more rapidly absorb the acid have illustrated one form of apparatus by and steam, and simultaneously therewith the means of which the method may be carried 2o convenient and ready separation of the seout, represents a longitudinal section of the lected chips from the dirt and other objecapparatus. tionable matter. (t represents a tank, and Z) represents a ro- I-Ieretofore it has been common to subject tary agitator or striker which extends across the chips to the action of steam at low presthe upper portion of the tank and is prefer- 25 sure to moisten them; but this practice has ably composed of a shaft and a series of indebeen found to possess some objectionable feapendent arms radiating therefrom, the arms tures, one being that the process is a slow being thickly arranged, so that when the agione, another that the action of the steam is tator is rapidly rotated they will strike pracnot readily controllable owing to the necestically all points alonga line extending across o sarily low pressure employed, and another the surface of a body of liquid 0 contained in that the chips are necessarily in a more or said tank, the liquid extending to such height less compact mass, so that some portions of that the downwardly-projecting arms of the the chips do not receive the proper moisture agitator enter the liquid. from the steam. v The agitator is so arranged that it subdi- 5 This invention, in one of its steps. utilizes vides the surface of the liquid into a chipone of the agencies of nature for the practical receiving area and a chip-delivering area. purpose of quickly and equally moistening The chips are deposited in a mass in the wood chips, owing to the fact that the clearchip-receiving area and are attacked by the wood chips when submerged in liquid, such agitator and forcibly scattered and sub- 9c 40 as water, will rise to the top thereof. This merged, the agitator moving in the direcimmersion of the chips and their subsequent tion indicated by the arrow marked therepassage through the water, owing to the difon. The agitator therefore moves the liquid ference in the specific gravities of the wood at and near the surface of the body 0 in such and water, results in the chips becoming sepaa direction as to cause it to carry the chips 45 rated from each other to such extent that all into the chip-delivering area and cause them portions of their surfaces will become quickly to encounter the chip-elevator, hereinafter and uniformly moistened, the water also pendescribed. The knot-wood chips and other etrating the pores of the wood completely, heavy matter, all of which will hereinafowing to the chips being in practice of small ter be termed waste, have a tendency to mo 50 size. This latter action, however, occurs only sink in the liquid, this tendency being inin connection with the clear-wood chips, while creased by the moistening caused by the forcing of the chips into the liquid by the agitator.

6 represents a waste-conveyer upon which the descending waste is deposited, said conveyer being preferably an endless band pro vided with slats e and supported by rolls or sprocketwheels 0 e to which motion is imparted in any suitable way.

The conveyer 6 extends under the chip receiving and delivering areas and delivers the waste through an inclined spout or chute f to a Waste-elevator g, which is an endless band running upon rolls or Wheels g g and arranged at a suitable angle, so that it is adapted to' raise the Waste from the tank and drop it into a Waste-conveyer g at one end of the tank, said conveyor having a screw g or other means for progressively removing the Waste that is deposited in it.

t represents a chip-elevator composed of an endless band, preferably of wire-cloth,

supported by rollers or wheels 2" t and arranged at an incline, the lower portion of said chip-elevator being at one end of the ohip deliverin g area of the body of liquid, so that it receives the chips from said area and elevates them, finally discharging them upon a conve'ye'rj, by which they may be removed to a hopper L, which may be arranged over a shaker adapted to separate the free liquid from the chips.

lVe are aware that it is old-to subject Wood to the soaking action of Water previous to the grinding and chipping, and that it is also old to mechanically remove the bark, knots, or other deleterious parts of the wood previous to the chipping. \Ve are also aware that it has been proposed to separate material of different specific gravities by causing some of the material to float along the surface of a body of liquid and some to sink therein, but our invention differs therefrom, as set forth in the claim at the end of this specification.

In the carrying out of our method it is essential that every particle of the material, whether clear-wood chips or knots of any size, shall be carried below the surface of the liquid to insure the complete and proper moistening and the sorting of the chips.

\Ve claim-- The improved method of simultaneously moistening and sorting the clear-wood chips from a mass of chips for cooking in a digester, the process consisting in positively and completely submerging the mass in a liquid of greater specific gravity than the clear-wood chips; then permitting the clear- Wood chips individually to scatter and rise through the liquid to the surface thereof, and allowing the knotty chips and other refuse of the mass to remain at the bottom, substantially as described.

In testimony whereof We affiX our signatures in presence of two subscribing witnesses.

NATHANIEL M. JONES. REGINALD TALBOT.

Witnesses:

CHAS. D. BLANCHARD, FRANK R. LINToN. 

